Street Department

The Public Works Street Department is very versatile in its day-to-day operations using its employees to their fullest potential. The Street Department is responsible for maintaining all city streets, alleys and parking facilities. The work involves 20% construction, 40% maintenance and 40% repairs. The Street Department staff constructs, maintains and repairs the following components of the City’s infrastructure:
· Streets and alleys
· Catch basins and storm sewers
· Sidewalks and curb and gutter
· Stop signs, street signs, informational signs, etc.
· Equipment Maintenance
· Leaf, brush and branch Collection
· Mowing public property
· City-owned public parking facilities
· Snow plowing, snow removal, sanding
· Reviews impacts of development projects
Reconstruction
Street reconstruction consists of rebuilding a street. Water mains, sanitary sewers, and storm sewers are improved if necessary as a part of this type of project. Street reconstruction includes new aggregate base, concrete curb and gutter, pavement, driveway approaches, and boulevard sod.
The purpose of the Comprehensive Pavement Management Strategies are to optimize the useful life of a street by scheduling Routine Maintenance, Preservation, Rehabilitation, and Reconstruction activities at the appropriate times during the life of a street.
Rehabilitation
Strategies include bituminous edge mill and overlays, adding concrete curb and gutter and overlaying streets that do not have concrete curb and gutter, and a type of project that includes replacement of concrete curb and gutter followed by an overlay. All three of these projects provide the pavement with a structural improvement.
Preservation
This group includes surface treatments such as seal coats. Seal coats consist of applying an asphalt emulsion to an existing bituminous street and then applying an aggregate material on top of the emulsion. Seal coats help rejuvenate pavements that have become hard and brittle along with helping to provide a waterproof layer.
Routine Maintenance
This category includes most normal maintenance activities such as crack filling or joint sealing, and localized patching. Crews work throughout the year patching potholes, replacing street signs, sweeping streets; cleaning catch basins and storm sewer; striping streets; removing leaves and brush; replacing curbs; mowing of right-of-ways, detention ponds and other properties; clearing snow and ice and providing a variety of other services.
Reviews
Public Works also works with the City's civil engineering services for review, plan check and construction inspection of all subdivisions, review and approval of grading plans and inspections, plan check and construction inspection of all private and utility work in the public right of way and review of tree removal requests and permits.